What’s New

A pair of Big Ten recruits and five players from the Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic highlight the list of the area’s top offensive linemen.

1. Deuce McGuire, Marist

The 6-5, 270-pounder teamed with current Notre Dame freshman Pat Coogan last spring to form the state’s premier offensive line tandem. McGuire, a three-star prospect, is the consensus No. 7 player in the state’s class of 2022 and is No. 53 nationally among senior offensive tackles. He’s committed to Northwestern.

2. Valen Erickson, St. Rita

A relative latecomer to football, Erickson originally figured his future was in basketball and didn’t hit the gridiron till seventh grade. This will be just his second full season with the Mustangs, whom he joined after moving from Ocala, Florida before his sophomore year. He’s a top-20 player in Illinois’ senior class and is committed to Nebraska.

3. Luke Dalton, Marian Central

The 6-5, 300-pounder is rated 20th among Illinois seniors in 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. He’s one of the most recent prospects to come off the recruiting board, committing to Cincinnati last week.

4. Yaser Al-Awadi, Maine East

Few prospects have come as far as fast as the 6-8, 300-pound senior, who didn’t start playing football till late in his freshman year. But now he’s on everyone’s radar, and his nine offers include Michigan State, Purdue, West Virginia and Kansas.

5. Jimmy Liston, Fenwick

The Friars have three offensive skill players already committed to D-I schools, and Liston will be joining that list at some point. Ranked 27th among Illinois seniors, the 6-4, 310-pounder has nine offers from the likes of Arizona State, Mississippi, Penn State and Texas Tech.

6. Mack Indestad, Lemont

The 6-7, 265-pounder is back to open more running lanes for senior back Albert Kunickis and the Indians’ run-focused attack. Indestad is ranked 32nd among the state’s seniors and is committed to Eastern Michigan.

7. Austin Barrett, St. Charles East

The 6-6, 275-pounder is among the nation’s top offensive tackles in the class of 2023. He has offers from Illinois, Iowa State and Syracuse and can expect that list to grow as college coaches see more of his junior film.

8. Paolo Gennarelli, St, Charles North

An exceptional athlete, Gennarelli also was a state-qualifying shot putter this spring. The 6-3, 275-pounder is committed to Army.

9. Gabe Rosen, Evanston

A 6-7, 340-pounder with a 6-11 wingspan, Rosen was an anchor of the Wildkits’ offensive line last spring as a sophomore. Expect him to be the next hot prospect for a program that is sending linebacker Sebastian Cheeks to North Carolina next season.

10. Carter McAlilly, Brother Rice

Not many sophomores start for the Crusaders, especially on the offensive line. McAlilly is part of that select group, and the 6-1, 290-pounder is back for a third season to protect quarterback Jack Lausch and open holes for speedy back Aaron Vaughn.

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow’s NFL comeback is seemingly over.

The Jacksonville Jaguars waived Tebow on Tuesday, parting with the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner who switched from quarterback to tight end in hopes of rejuvenating his pro football career.

Tebow’s blocking ranged from awkward to awful in Jacksonville’s preseason opener against Cleveland on Saturday night, his 34th birthday. He failed to get a catch and played no snaps on special teams.

“Thankful for the highs and even the lows, the opportunities, and the setbacks,” Tebow posted on Twitter. “I’ve never wanted to make decisions out of fear of failure and I’m grateful for the chance to have pursued a dream.”

Tebow opened training camp as Jacksonville’s fourth- or fifth-string tight end after switching positions this year. He was trying to return to the NFL after spending the previous five years in the New York Mets’ organization. He hit .223 with 18 home runs and 107 RBIs while never making it to the big leagues.

He asked coach Urban Meyer for a tryout after retiring from baseball in January. Meyer, who coached Tebow at the University of Florida, obliged and ended up giving him a one-year contract worth $920,000, the minimum for a player with three accrued NFL seasons. The low-risk deal includes no guaranteed money, so Tebow would have to make the team to earn a dime.

And that was always the uncertain part. Jacksonville entered camp with three tight ends essentially locked into roster spots: run-blocking specialist Chris Manhertz, fellow veteran James O’Shaughnessy and fifth-round draft pick Luke Farrell.

It quickly became clear that Tebow was less of a pass-catching option than Tyler Davis, a sixth-round selection in 2020, and second-year pro Ben Ellefson.

Denver selected Tebow in the first round in 2010. He led the Broncos to a playoff victory in his second season, but never developed the consistency to be a dependable NFL quarterback. He also failed to stick with the New York Jets, New England and Philadelphia.

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Dozens of people attended a vigil Monday evening for a 70-year-old woman gunned down earlier that day in Hegewisch on the Far South Side, hours before police released photos of the two suspected shooters.

Yvonne Ruzich — known by family as “Grandma Jo” — was parked in her car around 4:30 a.m. in the 13300 block of South Baltimore Avenue when two male gunmen walked up and fired shots, Chicago Police said.

Ruzich was seated in her car, speaking with someone in another car before reporting to work at Baltimore Food & Liquor Store. Surveillance video shared with media outlets show the gunmen approach from behind and open fire as Ruzich drove away.

She was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead.

Around 200 family, friends and community members gather for a vigil for Yvonne Ruzich outside Baltimore Food & Liquor Store in the Hegewisch neighborhood, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Ruzich was shot and killed earlier this morning in the 13300 block of South Baltimore Ave.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Ruzich retired after working 25 years in the Department of Streets and Sanitation, but continued working in Hegewisch, reporting early for work at Baltimore Food and Liquor for more than a year and a half, Police Commander Robert Rubio told the crowd at the vigil.

Ruzich was also a familiar face in the neighborhood, Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th) said.

“How many of us came here in the morning for coffee and she was in there?” Sadlowski Garza said.

“Please, there’s someone out there who knows who this is… Say something. We can’t let this go on,” she said.

Ruzich’s daughter, Karla Ruzich, pleaded for the public to turn in the shooters.

“Whoever you are out there took her from her grandbabies. And you should be ashamed of yourselves. And anyone hiding your dirty little secret out there right now should be ashamed of themselves,” she said.

A woman sits in front of a memorial set up for Yvonne Ruzich outside Baltimore Food & Liquor Store in the Hegewisch neighborhood, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Police said one suspect wore all-black clothing and a black face mask. The second person wore a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, light pants with black shoes with white soles and a light-colored face mask.

Police asked anyone with information to call Area 2 Detectives at (312) 747-8271. Anonymous tips can be submitted to www.cpdtip.com.

Community activist Andrew Holmes said he put up a $2,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the shooters.

Contributing: Tyler LaRiviere

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A health care worker, known by Belmont Central residents as “Dr. Lou,” was treating patients Sunday when he heard a loud vibration that sounded like a drill going through a ceiling.

When he heard the screams that followed, he ran outside and saw two girls with gunshot wounds lying on the grass.

Lou, who didn’t want his full name used, immediately checked the older girl’s breathing, felt for a pulse and then grabbed her hand, repeatedly telling her, “It’s going to be OK.”

“I just wanted her to be aware in case she was still conscious that someone was really caring for her while she was dying. I did not want her to feel she was dying alone,” Lou said, his voice quivering.

“And the truth is she did not make it. And I feel sorry I could not do more.”

Serenity Broughton, 7, died from the gunshot wounds she suffered to her chest and torso.

Her sister, identified by family as 6-year-old Aubrey Broughton, was “fighting for her life” at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood with gunshot wounds to her chest and armpit, Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott said Sunday.

A 7-year-old girl was killed and another wounded August 15, 2021 in Belmont Central.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Regina Broughton, the girls’ grandmother, said the sisters were very close and that “Serenity enjoyed her sister Aubrey the most.”

“Serenity enjoyed just about everything except being told no,” Regina Broughton said in a text message. “She had the potential to be anything she wanted to be. But she was a child. And her baby sister is missing her and doesn’t understand why her big sister ‘Honey,’ as she calls her, isn’t coming home.”

Lou, the healthcare worker, said roughly 20 bullet casings ended up in a narrow alley beside his clinic after the shooting.

“It was a terrible sight,” said Lou who ran back to grab more supplies to help Aubrey just as police and paramedics arrived and took over the blood-soaked scene.

“I never seen anything like this. It was like in movies. I’ve never seen anything like this ever. And it’s happening in real life.”

The girls’ mother was putting Serenity in the backseat of the family’s car when Serenity was shot shortly before 3 p.m. in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue, Chicago police said.

Aubrey was sitting in the back of the car when the gunfire erupted on the block police described as a “gang-conflict area.”

Neither the girls nor their mother were intended targets, police said.

Lou did not know how the girls ended up in the grass but said there was so much commotion and crying, his goal was to tend to them.

A 7-year-old girl was killed and another wounded August 15, 2021 in Belmont Central.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot Monday described the girls’ shooting as “senseless and brutal” and called for a war against gangs.

“We must unite against our common enemy: the gangs who have no regard for the sanctity of life, even that of young children,” Lightfoot said in a statement.

“We must declare war on these killers and their associates, and we must support our police as they leave no stone unturned as they search for the killers so that they may face justice. These killers have forfeited their right to walk amongst us as free people and we can have no empathy for them.”

Police are encouraging anyone with information on the shooting to file an anonymous tip on the Chicago Police Department’s website or to contact Area 5 detectives.

Activist Andrew Holmes is also offering a $2,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest or conviction.

“It’s not about the money, it’s just about catching these individuals before they strike and hit another child,” Holmes said. “Stop killing our children.”

Serenity and Aubrey’s cousin, Alysha Tolefree, said the family has started an online fundraiser to cover costs related to Serenity’s funeral and the girls’ medical bills.

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Police have released photos of two gunmen wanted for fatally shooting a 70-year-old woman early Monday in Hegewisch on the Far South Side.

Yvonne Ruzich was parked in her car just after 4:25 a.m. in the 13300 block of South Baltimore Avenue when two males approached and fired shots, Chicago Police said.

Ruzich was reportedly seated in her car, speaking with someone in another car before reporting to work at Baltimore Food & Liquor Store. Surveillance video shared with media outlets show the gunmen approach from behind and open fire as Ruzich drove away.

She was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead.

Around 200 family, friends and community members gather for a vigil for Yvonne Ruzich outside Baltimore Food & Liquor Store in the Hegewisch neighborhood, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021. Ruzich was shot and killed earlier this morning in the 13300 block of South Baltimore Ave.Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

Monday evening, dozens of people held a vigil for Ruzich and called for the public to turn in the shooters.

Ruzich had retired after working 25 years in the Department of Streets and Sanitation and had spent a year and a half reporting early for work at the store where she was killed, Police Commander Robert Rubio told the crowd.

Ruzich was a familiar face in the neighborhood, according to Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th).

“How many of us came here in the morning for coffee and she was in there?” Sadlowski Garza said.

“Please, there’s someone out there who knows who this is… Say something. We can’t let this go on,” she said.

Ruzich’s daughter, Karla Ruzich, said her mother was known as “Grandma Jo.”

“Whoever you are out there took her from her grandbabies. And you should be ashamed of yourselves. And anyone hiding your dirty little secret out there right now should be ashamed of themselves,” she said.

Police said one suspect wore all-black clothing and a black face mask. The second person wore a light-colored hooded sweatshirt, light pants with black shoes with white soles and a light-colored face mask.

Police asked anyone with information to call Area 2 Detectives at (312) 747-8271. Anonymous tips can be submitted to www.cpdtip.com.

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We’ve had a rough year, but thankfully there’s art. More specifically, there’s interactive art in this age where physical interaction seems restricted. Among the latest installations, the Van Gogh For All exhibition in Chicago has been one of the local’s favorites, attracting everyone from avid art history nerds to the general public.

“Treat this place like your playhouse.”

Is there a specific order we should view the exhibition with? No.

Is there anything we shouldn’t touch or move? No.

Van Gogh for All is redefining the viewing experience of classic masterpieces. Taking away the seriousness of art exhibitions, you will step into a giant playhouse filled with art you can walk into, touch, manipulate, and feel. Lay down on Van Gogh’s bed in the yellow room, or walk into the starry night and take a selfie. Put his trench coat on and read through the letter in his drawer. Sit at his favorite street-corner café, and enjoy some delicious pastries brought to you by the exhibition organizer.

Oh, and don’t forget to try your hands on creativity! You can create your own sunflower and lilac arrangements then draw them with the crayons provided. You can place the finished piece on the photo wall and become a part of this show!

Fun, but Still Accurate to the History

As the core purpose of this exhibition is to educate through interactivity, many would be astonished by the amount of research that went in the background.

The studio area perfectly recreated Van Gogh’s work environment, from his supply chest to his still life references sitting around the room. If you dig deeper, you’d even notice the books in the studio area are not by random choices, either. The curator even gathered enough proof to remake all the letters and notes that went back and forth between Van Gogh and his brother, the family portraits and lore, and various types of painting tools.

The same amount of dedication to detail and accuracy can be seen throughout the show. Therefore, if you’re an avid Van Gogh fan, now is your chance to truly step in to this legendary artist’s workspace.

333 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL  60601

The Van Gogh For All experience is on display until September 26. Tickets can be booked ahead of time or purchased on site. The exhibition is open seven days a week, from 9am to 8pm.

Social distancing rules are in place, and face-covering is required throughout the exhibition unless you’re eating. Yes, you read this right. Go there around dinner hour, and you’ll get to taste some of Van Gogh’s favorite desserts and pastries back in the day!

Van Gogh For All was designed and produced by Dolores Kohl Education Foundation, a 501c(3) organization dedicated to promote education and youth development through experiential, innovative programming since 1974.

Featured Image Credit: Immersive Van Gogh on Facebook

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You might have already seen the video below. @BarstoolChicago relinked this video of a guy that buried a bottle of Tito’s in Grant Park, three weeks before Lolla and dug it up.

Do you really have to respect it, though?

This guy buried a bottle of Tito’s in Grant Park 3 weeks ago and dug it up during Lolla. Have to respect it pic.twitter.com/yd6T1Q2nnb

— Barstool Chicago (@barstoolchicago) August 1, 2021

One reason I do not respect this video is due to the fact it’s merely a bottle of Tito’s. Sure, Tito’s is an absolutely great bang for your buck. Quality vodka at a non-ridiculous price. But if you’re going to bury booze, how about a 4.5 liter of Grey Goose? Now that would be special.

The real reason I am not impressed is that people have impressed me more. More specifically, at Rebelution’s 2014 Lollapalooza set. You can watch a video sample below, but honestly this was one of the most righteous times I’ve ever had.

During the middle of the set—and my ex-girlfriend, aunt & uncle, brother, and friends I was with can all attest to this—some kid started holding a full-sized weed plant above his head. Not like a fake plant, or something he ripped off the mother plant. This was the mother plant, in a pot that I would imagine anybody under 100lbs wouldn’t be able to pick up on their own.

Although awesome, I was dumbfounded. HOW did he get that in there? Did he bring that in just for the Rebelution show? How did he carry it around all day?

These questions went unanswered for years. Then, I saw the video that Barstool posted. Which, by the way, has been done for as long as remember by Chicagoans. Except now, the dots have been connected. The Lolla ’14 weed pot mystery had been solved.

How did that kid get a garden-sized pot, with a 5-foot (at-the-time) illegal pot plant, through Lollapalooza security? He didn’t….he planted it in the park weeks before.

I wouldn’t say this mystery has been fully solved, but we’re getting there. If you or somebody you know has any information on this crucial, developing story…please email me.

Featured Image Credit: WGNTV

For additional Lollapalooza coverage and interviews with up-and-coming acts, check out all of our coverage here.

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One of the last links to one of Chicago’s greatest singers has died.

Zelda Sands, an accomplished songwriter who managed the offices of Sam Cooke’s record and publishing companies, “broke one glass ceiling after the other,” said G. David Tenenbaum, a Chicago native and co-author of the book “You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke.”

Singer Mel Carter said he found Ms. Sands, 92, unresponsive Saturday at her apartment in Hollywood, Calif.

She was a friend and former manager of Carter, who recorded hits including “Hold Me, Kiss Me, Thrill Me.”

Zelda Sands and singer Mel Carter, whose career she managed for decades.Donald Piper

A lyricist, she wrote under her birth name — Zelda Samuels — and her professional name Zelda Sands, according to Donald Piper, president of the Sam Cooke Fan Club.

Ms. Sands composed the words to “Lookin’ for a Love,” which was recorded by the Valentinos, Bobby Womack, Sam Moore, Rod Stewart, Squeeze, Rufus Thomas and The J. Geils Band, whose version was featured in the 1985 movie “The Falcon and the Snowman.” She helped write Cooke’s “Talkin’ Trash,” Irma Thomas’ “I Haven’t Got Time to Cry” and “Dancin’ Holiday,” recorded by Carter and also by the Miracles.

With Jackie DeShannon, she wrote “Hark, is That a Cannon I Hear?” for Bobby Vee. She also helped write “You’re Just What I Needed,” recorded by Chubby Checker, “Dancin’ Holiday,” recorded by the Olympics and the Miracles, and “After the Parting,” recorded by Carter and by Patti Page.

“She had a sense as a lyricist for what worked, for what makes a good story for a song, ” Piper said.

Cooke, a Wendell Phillips High School alum, hired Ms. Sands to manage the Los Angeles offices for his SAR record company and its Derby division as well as his publishing company Kags Music, according to Tenenbaum and Piper. Cooke was one of the first performers to own his record and publishing companies.

Many men in the 1960s music industry underestimated Ms. Sands because of her beauty, Carter said. They didn’t notice how hard she worked to protect Cooke’s interests, according to Piper and Tenenbaum.

“She had a really good business sense,” Tenenbaum said. “She knew how to run it — how to get royalties, how to get paid by the distributors and how to get disc jockeys to play the records.”

“Zelda was making the rounds in Hollywood one day and talked to Wink Martindale,” a radio disc jockey, Piper said.

The A side of one of Cooke’s songs — “Farewell My Darling” — was under-performing, and Ms. Sands “suggested he flip it over.”

The B side was “Cupid,” which became a monster hit.

Her friends said Ms. Sands, a Brooklyn native, was skilled at protecting Mr. Cooke’s copyrights because of her music industry experience. She’d once worked in the offices of “Chicago” composer Fred Fisher in New York’s famed Brill Building, an incubator for songwriters and artists. She started out as a secretary for Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca, Piper said.

Cooke was a member of the Soul Stirrers, a legendary gospel group that performed at many Black churches in Chicago. He went on to fame with a string of hits that also included “Another Saturday Night,” “Chain Gang,” “Having a Party,” “Only Sixteen,” “Twistin’ the Night Away” and “You Send Me.” His “A Change is Gonna Come” is considered a civil rights anthem.

Zelda Sands standing in front of a TV playing a documentary for which she was interviewed, “Lady You Shot Me: the Life and Times of Sam Cooke.”Donald Piper

Ms. Sands always questioned the ruling of justifiable homicide in Cooke’s fatal 1964 shooting by a Los Angeles motel clerk who said he attacked her.

“She claimed she didn’t know who he was, which is a stone-a– lie,” Ms. Sands said in the documentary “Lady You Shot Me: the Life and Death of Sam Cooke.”

Ms. Sands was a grandchild of Russian Jewish immigrants, according to Piper.

“She was something,” Piper said. “She was very independent, just wanted to be out on her own.”

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